At the end of last year, shipments amounted to US $ 4,650 million, a figure 22.1% higher than that registered in 2016. The increase in prices, would explain the increase in the records.

The effects suffered by the salmon industry caused by the bloom of algae during the summer of 2016, led the sector to record historical figures for shipments during 2017.

During the past year, exports of salmon and trout totaled US $ 4,650 million, an amount that represents an increase of 22.1% compared to the US $ 3,808 million registered in 2016, according to a report prepared by the aquaculture consultancy Index Salmon . This is the largest growth registered by the shipments in history. In addition to this, the amount recorded was the highest value since 1994, when it amounted to US $ 348,742.

The advance was almost entirely due to an increase in prices. In fact, the volume exported only grew 2.2% in 2017 to 523,038 tonnes.

The CEO of Index Salmon, Reinaldo Vidal, explained that the rise in prices was due to two factors. The first was the bloom of algae that affected the production of salmon in Chile in 2016, while in Norway the production was affected by sea lice during the same year. This resulted in a reduction in the supply of salmonids worldwide, with which prices rose considerably.

Thus, the average shipping value of this product increased 19.4% in 2017 compared to 2016, closing the year with US $ 8.9 per kilo, US $ 1.5 more than the previous period. In March, the values ​​reached their peak of the year, reaching US $ 12.84 per kilo. According to industry sources, prices will tend to continue to decline as the supply is being regulated worldwide.

According to Vidal, the industry takes about two years to fully recover from these phenomena, both to regularize the crops and to observe a stabilization in prices.

Main markets

In terms of destinations, as in the past year, the United States continues to lead among the countries that receive Chilean salmon exports, with a 34.6% share of the total. Shipments to this country increased by 19.7% compared to last year, reaching US $ 1,608 million. It is followed by Japan, which increased the amounts by 39.6%, importing US $ 1,012 million and having a participation of 21.8%. Likewise, shipments to Brazil increased by 11.1% reaching US $ 582,192 million. With these numbers, this destination increased its participation to 12.5%.

A better 2018. Although in the industry they assured that it is difficult to predict exact figures of exports, sources of the sector assured that 2018 is seen as a positive period, although with lower prices than in 2017. Thus, they foresee that this year exports would increase between 3% and 5%. "The price of salmon is already stabilizing and the trend points to it, so we hope to close this year with more than 800 thousand tons," said Vidal, who warned that this will be true as long as the bloom of algae that today affects to the X and XI Region do not continue to expand.